


First Kiss

by DragonoftheMidwest



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Agni Kai, Budding Relationship, F/M, First Kiss, Sozin's Comet, Zutara Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-18 05:49:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15478998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonoftheMidwest/pseuds/DragonoftheMidwest
Summary: The Agni Kai, from Zuko's point of view, and what should have happened immediately after.





	First Kiss

First Kiss

 

“What’s the matter? No lightning today? Afraid I’ll redirect it?” Zuko taunted Azula, trying to push her over the edge she was teetering on so he could end the Agni Kai sooner.

He could see the moment his sister snapped. “I’ll show you lightning!” she screeched at him with a lurch. 

Zuko could feel each heartbeat as he readied himself to redirect Azula’s lightning. Time slowed to a crawl as he watched his sister’s fingers spark in preparation for her shot. Just as she looked away and changed her target, he changed his actions, too. Katara stood no chance, not with an electric charge of that size. He moved without consciously thinking about it, leaping in front of the water bender and reaching out to pull the charge from the air.

He realized, too late that he wouldn’t be able to redirect the lightning as the first spark touched him, It was better, this way, he thought. He had agreed to the Agni Kai to ensure Katara wouldn’t get hurt, and even if things hadn’t gone as planned, he at least made sure that she wouldn’t perish by his sister’s hand and she could escape on Appa. 

The lightning bolt hit him full force. His body was positioned wrong, his hands too close to his heart. His body seized up and he screamed as he hit the ground. He heard Katara scream for him, felt the static in the air from another bolt of lightning that turned his stomach to stone. He rolled over, wanting to do something, anything to help her. She still stood, the ground before her smoking. He tried to wave her away, but his hand fell to the ground. She ran to him, pulling from her water skins and summoning her healing abilities. 

Blue fire interrupted her path, and she got out of the way just in time. Zuko tried to follow the battle, but he could feel his body giving up. The edges of his vision were darkening and he could feel his inner fire dimming. He fought with every ounce of strength he had to stay conscious, knowing if he closed his eyes, it was over. Azula was taunting him, mocking him, saying he didn’t look well before he could hear the tell tale sounds of another bolt of lightning striking. He felt his life slipping from his body, and the sounds of Azula and Katara battling became indistinguishable. He no longer saw the blood red of the sky and the singing in his blood from Sozin’s comet was silent. He closed his eyes and let himself drift.

He gasped as he was violently yanked from the void. The warm glow of Katara’s hands healing him caught his attention. She had him lying flat on his back and tears were streaming down her face. He tried to move, but his body barely twitched in response. “Thank you, Katara,” he croaked. Azula could be heard screaming behind Katara and he resisted the urge to look around her at his sister. 

Her gaze darted to his face. “I should be the one thanking you.” He could tell by the sound of her voice that she was holding back a sob. “Don’t ever,  _ ever _ do that again.” She pulled him up by what remained of his shirt and kissed him. 

Katara certainly wasn’t his first kiss. He had kissed Mai and even done more with her. Even Mai’s more passionate kisses couldn’t hold a candle to the water bender’s enthusiasm. Her chapped lips were clumsy, and inexperienced, but he could almost feel her soul in the kiss. After the initial shock of the kiss wore off, he groaned and lifted a shaking hand to tangle in her long hair as he returned it. His heart was pounding painfully in his chest, and he made the difficult decision to pull from the kiss, grimacing when he felt a twinge in his chest. 

“I’m sorry. You need more healing, I shouldn’t have…” Katara pulled more water and set to work on him.

Zuko chuckled. “Don’t apologize for that. It was worth it.” He could see the muscles in her face twitch slightly, an echo of a smile as she concentrated on continuing to repair damaged tissue. He tried to be still for her as she worked, and paid attention to her hands as they moved over his chest. When her hands started trembling and her breathing changed, he gently took her wrist. He was still in pain, but he would make it through the night. “Katara, it’s okay. You can take a break.”

She let the water fall over him and looked him in the eyes. They were full of more tears that she refused to let fall. “What if more come?”

Zuko shook his head. “I’m Fire Lord now, anybody that attacks us will be charged with treason.”

“Is this what you wanted? To be Fire Lord?” Katara asked. 

“This is the only way for us to restore peace. It will take a lot of work to undo the damage my family did, but I will gladly do it so this will never happen again.” Zuko tried to push himself up, and smiled at Katara when she helped him stand. “Let’s get inside. I’ll send a hawk to Uncle and let him know what happened here.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while since I participated in Zutara week. Four years, I think? Last time I was still posting on FF.net, so it's been a minute.


End file.
